


The Adventures of Billa's Skirt and the Events Leading From It

by thunDaClap



Series: The Adventures of Billa Baggins [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Beorn has sewing tools, F/M, don't know what for but he has them, possibly changing title name in the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 03:25:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6498946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunDaClap/pseuds/thunDaClap
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was at Beorn's house when Billa Baggins decided she had enough. Not of the journey or of the dwarves – as maddening as both were – no, she adored them. She had had enough of her damned skirt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Adventures of Billa's Skirt and the Events Leading From It

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written any fanfics in YEARS but here I am at almost 3 am completing a piece of writing that I started at what, 2 in the afternoon? Anyway I hope you all enjoy this.

It was at Beorn's house when Billa Baggins decided she had enough. Not of the journey or of the dwarves – as maddening as both were – no, she adored them. She had had enough of her damned skirt.  
Back in the Shire, all respectable hobbit lasses wore skirts and dresses. It was rather uncommon to see any in trousers, Billa knew, never owning them. When she first left Bag-End with a pack on her back and the contract clutched in her hand, she never once thought that the skirt she wore would be even a bit of trouble for her.  


Now, this was a perfectly fine skirt, as well as the spares she packed for the journey. They had beautiful earthy tones with a hint of jewel colours in the decorations (but no actual jewels of course, Billa wasn't silly enough to buy something so frivolous). So, what was so frustrating about them?  
Well, Billa thought to herself. It was easy for some orc sword to stab into her skirt and trap her to the ground or to a tree, as the skirt trailed slightly whenever Billa ran. It was also a bother whenever there'd be a huge gust of wind, and Billa had to drop everything just to pull her skirt back down before any of the dwarves could see.

One noticeable example was when they left Rivendell and encountered the Misty Mountains. The rain was distracting enough, but paired together with the strong winds caused Billa to pay no attention to when her skirt suddenly flew up, giving quite a show to a handful of dwarves (though Dwalin, who was stood behind her, kindly grabbed the fabric and pulled it down for Billa).

Billa's face turned red at the memory and she touched her face. She'd only known about it soon after they found a cave to shelter in.

“Miss Baggins,” Balin said as he walked up to the drenched hobbit. “May I have a word?”  
“Of course, of course.” Billa replied. Though not minding a conversation, her mood was dampened by Thorin's attitude towards her, and his words echoed in her mind.  
_“She's been lost ever since she left home.”_  
As grateful as she was that the dwarven king swooped down the rocks to save her, she couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt in her heart and she didn't know why.  
Her attention was brought back when Balin pulled her aside and spoke in a hushed tone.  
“Miss Baggins, I must tell you, er, well, I'm not sure if this is a sensitive subject or not, and I don't want to offend-”  
“What is it, Balin?” Billa couldn't help but interrupt. Balin rarely ever stumbled over his words, so something was wrong.  
“Your skirt, lass.” replied Balin after a short pause. “The wind caught it, and, well...”  
That was all for Billa to turn red and cover her face. “Oh my heavens...!”  
“Please don't fret too much. My brother caught it before it, well, before it flew too high.”  
As comforting as Balin tried to make his words, it only made Billa's face redder. What if she had been near the front of the Company at that time? What if Dwalin wasn't behind her and didn't fix Billa's skirt for her? Oh gods, what if Thorin had seen...?  
Her heart thumped at the thought of Thorin seeing her hobbit underwear. No no no Billa, what are you thinking?

A sigh left Billa's mouth. She stood up from the haystack in Beorn's barn, turned, and headed for the dining area where the dwarves took their fill of food and drink. Chatter and laughter filled the air, creating a perfect distraction for Billa as she made a beeline for Beorn.  
The skin-changer easily towered above her, the dwarves, and even Gandalf, though he still looked down when Billa reached up and waved to him.  
“Mr Beorn!” she called up. “May I ask, do you have any sewing equipment?”  
It was a strange inquiry, Billa could agree, but along with her handkerchief it was one of the things her mind skipped over when packing.  
Surprisingly, Beorn nodded. “I do, little one, but the needle may be too big for your hands.”  
“I'll try to manage, if you let me borrow them for a moment.”  


A moment passed between them and Billa could see in Beorn's face that he was debating whether or not to let her use them. Eventually, he gave her a nod and led her under an archway to the kitchen in the next room. Billa quickly followed, not noticing that Fili and Kili were watching her.  
“What's she doing?” Kili asked, more to his brother than anyone else. Thorin, who was leant against a pillar with his arms folded, looked up. Fili shrugged.  
“Maybe she's looking for something more green to eat, Kee.”  
“But there's plenty here, none of us are eating it!”  
Thorin's brow furrowed. What _was_ the hobbit lass doing?  


His question was answered seconds later when she scurried out the kitchen with a large spool of thread, a pair of large scissors clutched to her chest and... was that a sewing needle? It was the size of Billa's hand and could have easily been used as a knitting needle instead. Thorin didn't have time to make up his mind as Billa disappeared back into the barn.  
Beorn stepped out his kitchen and returned to his guests.  
“Oi, what's Billa doing with those?” Kili asked, stretching his neck back to look up to the skin-changer. Beorn simply frowned and poured fresh milk into Kili's mug.  
“It's best you keep your dwarf nose out of a woman's privacy,” he retorted. “Unless that's how you dwarves treat the gentle sex.”  
“Gentle!” Bofur laughed. “You should've seen her when she killed that orc on the mountain!”  
“It's true!” Ori piped up. “She wanted nothing more than to cut that blighter up!”  
“Quiet down, Ori.” Dori told his brother. “Not that you're wrong.”  
The other dwarves began to join in.  
“She used him as a bloody pincushion!”  
“Didn't know much could be done with that letter-opener!”  
A few words in Khuzdul came from Bifur and the Company burst into roaring laughter. Thorin continued to stand stoic and silent. He had no memory of that moment, but the thought of Billa stood over him, so willing to give up her life for him as she aimed her little sword at Azog, no thought for herself or for the home she would've left behind if she had died...  


Gandalf noted the look on Thorin's face and a grin appeared on his own. He held his wooden pipe between his teeth and walked over to the King Under the Mountain.  
“It seems Billa is making quite a name for herself.”  
Thorin peered up to the wizard. “No wonder, after what happened.”  
“Yet you've rarely spoken to her about it.”  
“There's nothing to say.”  
“Oh, I highly doubt that, Thorin Oakenshield.” Gandalf gave him a sly smirk and puffed his pipe. “There's something on your mind, and whatever it is, it's for Billa. Since that escape, you've been reaching out for her only to hold yourself back.”  
“Do not claim to know what my intentions are, Tharkûn.”  
Gandalf chuckled in response, muttering about 'stubborn dwarves' before turning and going back to the Company.  
Damn that wizard for being right.  


Thorin glanced over to the entrance of the barn. Billa had been in there for a while now, and he couldn't help but wonder what she was doing with the spool of thread and the scissors and the far-too-large needle. Her clothes weren't so badly damaged that they needed fixing, not that Thorin noticed the state of her clothes or anything. Still, if Beorn wasn't going to tell them, then Thorin was going to find out himself.  
He silently slipped away from his kin and headed for the barn. Walking inside, he noticed that there was no sign of Billa.  
Thorin frowned and a sense of panic began to rise within him. He stepped forward and began searching in the separate stalls (much to the annoyance of the huge cows) when he heard Billa talk to herself.  


“What would my mother say if she saw these stitches? 'Billa Baggins, I did NOT raise you to create such a messy seam!' Oh, darn this needle..!”  


Thorin instinctively marched towards her voice coming from behind the very last stall and turned around the wooden wall.  


Billa sat on her knees in the hay with three skirts spread out in front of her. She had cut a line down the one she was holding and was sewing up the inner edges, fashioning what looked like a pair of trousers.  


What Thorin noticed first, however, was that Billa Baggins had nothing covering her legs other than knee-length white bloomers.  


Before he could leave, Thorin heard a gasp and looked up to meet with Billa's shocked face.  


“What are you doing?!” she squeaked and pulled the skirt-trousers over to hide her underwear. It took a second for Thorin to find the right words.  
“My apologies,” he managed to splutter out with a red face forming under his dark beard. “I was... I simply-”  
“Please leave!”  
“What's going on in there?”  
With a glare, Thorin turned and saw the entire Company – including Beorn and Gandalf – staring into the barn. Bofur, being the one that called out to Thorin, stood in the archway with his hands on his hips.  
Without another word, Thorin walked back towards them and grabbed Bofur by the shoulder, pulling him back into the dining area.  
“None of you go in there. You leave the Burglar alone.”  
Of course Fili and Kili shot up from their chairs and ran towards the barn to see what caused their Uncle's face to turn so red. Thorin grabbed them both by their collars and forced them back onto some wooden chairs by the table.  
Fili groaned. “What's she doing in there, Uncle?”  
Kili whined. “Why can't we see?”  
Thorin growled. “If any of you go in there you'll have my sword to answer to.”  
The dwarves were about to argue when Gandalf pushed past them and into the barn.  
“You dwarves stay in there, lest you upset my hobbit more!”  
They watched as the wizard strode down the end of the stalls and turned the corner out of sight. Thorin's jaw clenched. _His_ hobbit? He thought to himself. Billa didn't belong to him. How dare he.

Billa sniffed and wiped at a tear threatening to fall down her cheek. She couldn't believe it, that Thorin... that he saw....  
Gandalf turned the corner and stopped once he spotted her. “Billa Baggins,” he began in a sympathetic tone and knelt beside her. “What in the world happened here?”  
As a family friend and someone who has known her since she was a babe, Billa had no problem with Gandalf seeing her in this state. She instead fisted her hands in her skirt and brought it up to hide her face.  
“I-it's nothing, it's a silly thing to get so upset about.”  
“Why? You have every right to be upset. He should have at least made his presence known.”  
With a blink, Billa looked up to Gandalf, who had a warm smile on his face. He turned to the skirts on the ground.  


“Now, what's all this?”  


Billa wiped her eyes. “I was trying to fix my skirts into something more.... well, more for the road, I suppose.”  
“Ah, yes.” Gandalf nodded. “I did notice that they'd get stuck on branches and bushes many a time. Though I'm sure if you brought it up, we could've stopped and bought you a pair of trousers or two.”  
“I didn't want them wasting their gold on me, and I haven't enough money myself to replace these frustrating skirts,” said Billa. “I figured that if I could make them myself, then I could still technically keep my skirts without throwing them away.”  
Gandalf nodded as she spoke. The halfling could be just as stubborn as the dwarves, but by her argument she had good reason to be so. He placed his staff onto the floor and picked up the needle Billa had abandoned.  
“Gandalf...?”  
“This isn't appropriate for your hands, Billa Baggins,” the wizard muttered, and held one hand above the needle. His lips moved silently and in a blink, both the needle and spool of thread shrunk down to hobbit size.  
“There, that's much better.”  
Billa's face lit up and she beamed. “Thank you, Gandalf!”  
He passed the needle back to her. “Now you won't leave large holes in the fabric.” He picked up his staff and stood, turned, and left Billa to her work.

Later that evening and the dwarves still had no sign of Billa. At this point Thorin was sure he'd scared her off.  


He and the Company were outside, enjoying the setting sun with a small fire and music from their instruments (because damn any Goblin that tried to take those away from them). Beorn tended to his horses nearby, making sure the fire didn't spook them, and Gandalf sat with next to Balin and they spoke about gods know what but it kept them both happy.  


A merry tune lifted into the air with the floating embers of the fire. Thorin stared at them until the glowing ashes disappeared into nothingness, then looked back down.  


His breath hitched in his throat. A large door opened from Beorn's house slowly, and heading across to the fire was Billa Baggins in a pair of trousers Thorin had never seen before.  


Fili and Kili noticed her too and broke into smiles.  


“Missus Boggins!” they exclaimed and rushed to her to pick her up in a hug. Billa couldn't help but grin despite her annoyance.  
“Boys, put me down this instance!”  
“Where've you been?”  
“We thought you took off!”  
Looking up, Billa shook her head. “Goodness, no! Why would you think that?”  
“Well Uncle upset you-”  
“-Or at least that's what Gandalf said.”  
With a roll of her eyes, Billa wriggled out of their grips and stood, patting down her trousers. “Even Thorin Oakenshield couldn't make me leave, whether he upset me or not.”  
The brothers laughed and lead her to a log by the fire. Fili sat to her left whilst Kili sat to her right, evidently trapping her between them. Billa scanned the musical crowd when she spotted Thorin directly opposite her, staring at her from the flickering top of the fire. His icy blue eyes, once cold and piercing, glistened with the warmth of the fire. They burned into Billa's grey eyes. She held her breath as they both held their gaze.  


Something happened between them. The music and the fire seemed to fade away from Billa's sight. There was a thunderous beat in her chest, her heart threatening to burst out into the open.  


Billa didn't know it, but Thorin was beginning to feel the same. His teeth clenched and his fingernails pressed into his rough palms. All he wanted to do was walk over and talk to her. He's to be the King of Erebor, so why was this simple task so hard for him to do?  


It was too much for Billa. She blinked and averted her eyes, instead now paying attention to one of Beorn's mice running by her feet. Thank Yavanna that the other dwarves were too preoccupied with their songs and jokes.  


Several moments later, another pair of feet stood before Billa's bare toes. She looked up to see Ori smiling at her and wringing part of his coat in his hands.  


“Care for a dance, Miss Billa?”  


Billa was taken aback by these words. Back at the Shire, no hobbit lad asked her to dance. The fauntlings would be steered away by their mothers whilst the older boys never dared to ask “that Took girl”. Not that Billa minded that much; she preferred to dance with her parents when they were still alive.  


She realized that she hadn't answered Ori yet. She cleared her throat.  


“Forgive me Ori, I'm not much of a dancer.”  
“Neither am I, not really.”  
Well, Billa couldn't turn down such a tempting offer now, could she? She sighed and lifted her hand up to Ori, which he promptly took and pulled her up. A few cheers came from Fili and Kili.  
“Dibs on the next dance!”  
“Excuse you, I'm next, I'm the older one here!”  
A wave of happiness rushed over Billa. She felt as giddy as a hobbit teen yet she couldn't care. The music started up with a new song, and soon enough she and Ori were laughing and spinning around the campfire. There was no worry of Billa's newly-formed trousers hitting the flames as her feet kicked up.  
Fili stood and rushed the dancing pair, stealing Billa's hand from Ori and pulling her towards him, continuing the dance with a much more controlled grace. The Company cheered and Ori received a pat on the back by Dori when he sat back down.  
Billa's dance with Fili ended almost as soon as it started when Kili joined in and grabbed Billa around the waist, earning a happy giggle from the smaller woman. He spun her around in a messy waltz that didn't match the music at all, but all the while they smiled and laughed.  
Kili finally let go of Billa's waist and instead grabbed her hand and brought it above the both of them. Billa took the message and twirled on the spot. She felt Kili let go of her hand and her feet moved on their own, until she stumbled into something burly and tall.  


Thorin glanced down to Billa. She had knocked into his chest, but that didn't falter him. Billa, on the other hand, was staring up with wide and curious eyes, her face quickly turning red for the millionth time that day.  


They both noticed the music fading away. The others must've all been staring at them, waiting for one of them to make the next move.  


Thorin's hand twitched and the music started up once more. It began with strings, then flutes followed, and finally a slow drumbeat. Billa swallowed whatever she thought of Thorin at that point and held out her hand with a smile.  
For a moment, it looked like Thorin was going to accept it. His eyes flickered to the other dwarves and he frowned.  
“I don't dance.” Thorin grunted.  
“Neither do I.” Billa replied.  
“You dance beautifully.”  
Now that REALLY surprised Billa. It surprised Thorin too, by the look on his face. His words uttered only loud enough for the two of them to hear.  
Billa snapped out of her shock and used this chance to take Thorin's hand, pulling him closer to the fire. His head sharply turned to her but he made no move to pull away.  


The music that played was a sweet tune that reminded Billa of something far away. It reminded her of her garden back at Bag-End. It reminded her of the stream that ran through Hobbiton. It reminded Billa of her mother's eyes, the same colour as her own....  


“Wait,” Billa pulled away from Thorin and looked towards the dwarves. “I know that song!”  
“You do!” Bofur gleefully said. “Come sing it with us, lass!”  
Billa quickly shook her head. “Oh, no no no, I'm perfectly fine here-”  
“Please, Missus Boggins!”  
“We haven't heard you sing yet!”  
Me and my big mouth, the hobbit thought to herself with a groan. A hand gently pressed to the small of her back, causing her to jump.  


“I'd like to hear you sing.”  
Thorin's baritone voice ran through Billa's body like a shiver. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, she noted silently.  


The dwarves waited on Billa's answer. She waited a moment – wiggling her nose with a sniff – then headed back to her seat, where Fili and Kili sat once more trapping her.  
Silence grew in the group, with only the crackling of the fire to break it.  
“Well?” Billa blinked, looking at Bofur. “Are you going to play the song or not?”  
A sudden loud cheer erupted from the Company and the music began from the start. Billa cleared her throat and held her head high.

_“A voice calls softly,_  
_It calls from within_  
_To trust my steps_  
_And to keep on dreaming._  
_Around night falls_ ,  
_And all turns to grey,_  
_But I hold a light_  
_To light my way._

_The sky is clear blue_  
_No matter what we do,_  
_The road is long_  
_But I see the light_  
_That shines at the end,_  
_The arms reaching in,_  
_I know that you are waiting for me._

_Though sorrows, troubles,_  
_May gather up high,_  
_Broken glass pieces_  
_Fall from the sky._  
_Memories though sad_  
_Will hold something true,_  
_Shattered glass pieces_  
_Reflect something new.”_

A giggle from Billa interrupted her singing and she covered her face in embarrassment.  
“I can't sing!” she mumbled to the disagreement of many the dwarves, Gandalf included. Fili gave Kili a playful look, and both boys put their arms around Billa's shoulders.  
“Come on, we'll sing with you!” Fili said. “We don't know the words, but we can try!” He grinned wide when Billa looked up from her hands, smiling back at him. The music continued to play, waiting for the rest of the song. Billa sucked in a breath and sang, smiling as the boys joined in with “la la las”.

_“A voice calls softly,_  
_It calls from within_  
_To trust my steps_  
_And to keep on dreaming._  
_Around night falls,_  
_And all turns to grey...”_

Billa glanced over to Thorin as she sang the song Belladonna Took taught her as a fauntling. How her mother knew this song that even the dwarves knew, Billa will never find out. Her heart fluttered when she caught Thorin looking back at her with something she never saw in his eyes before.

_“But I hold a light,_  
_Deep in my heart,_  
_I knew you were waiting_  
_Right from the start.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I'd say "guess what the song is" but Google exists so there's no real mystery to it.  
> The song Billa sings is Hayley Westenra's english version of Itsumo Nando Demo because I'm THAT lame and it's been on my mind for the past week.


End file.
